Like most children, Tucker Hofstetter didn't so much choose the sport he was going to play as it was chosen for him.

Tucker was just four when he stepped onto the rink at the Paris Curling Club and started throwing rocks. With his hockey helmet on and his mom, Lynne, and dad, Allen, watching, his first big decision was which rocks to throw.

Instead of grabbing the much smaller and lighter Little Rocks that most children throw, Tucker threw the regulation rocks usually reserved for adults.

Tucker can still remember the smile on his dad's face.

"That was probably the big push," he said. "That was the big motivation."

That memory of his father's smile is a strong one for Tucker. On Feb. 9, 2011, Allen died after being injured on the job.

The loss of his father spurred Tucker to continue curling. And now he has his sights set squarely on his ultimate goal.

"I want to go to the Olympics," said the 16-year-old, Grade 11 student at Paris District High School.

"I just want to be standing up on a podium. One day, I just want to get a medal around my neck, for my country."

This season he's taking big steps in that direction.

* * *

As he grew older, Tucker got more serious about curling. With coaching and support from Donna Todd, Tucker eventually joined leagues.

By the time he was writing two numbers for his age instead of one, Tucker had moved to the Brant Curling Club where Pat White has been instrumental in his development.

After a short time with that club, Tucker soon was curling with men.

Tucker had previous experience curling with adults - he had curled with his mom and dad along with Lynne's daughter, Taylin, in mixed events.

But a child playing with adults was a topic of discussion at the club. Some members worried that it was inappropriate for a child to play in leagues where there was adult language and liquor being consumed. After a vote, he was allowed to play.

Tucker has played other sports - including soccer, basketball and volleyball - but they aren't the same.

"Curling is my passion," he says.

* * *

Lynne and Allen were married in 1994. Three years later, Lynne started curling at the BCC and, in 1998, the couple joined the PCC.

Allen had curled when he was younger at his home club in Plattsville but his marriage to Lynne reignited the passion to play. In fact, the couple started a business - Hit the Broom Curling Gear - that Lynne still runs.

Lynne said that, at first, Tucker wasn't too interested in curling. But he got hooked after Allen bribed his son with McDonald's.

"Once he understood it, he always wanted to go throw stones," said Lynne. "He would always ask, 'Dad, when are we going to go throw stones'."

Soon they were throwing stones a lot.

Tucker recalled being about 10 and on the ice with his dad, who lined up all 64 rocks, ready for action. Allen would set up shots that would be impossible for almost all but the most experienced curlers.

"My legs would get tired and he would say, 'Do you want to go?' I would say, 'I'm not giving up, I'm not giving up,'" recalled Tucker.

"We were trying like doubles and triples. Half the guys in men's league couldn't make some of the shots."

One thing that kept Tucker going was the feeling he got from watching his dad's expression.

"There was quite a glow on his face," said Tucker.

* * *

Allen was a journeyman lineman for more than 25 years. He would go where he was needed. On Feb. 8, 2011, he found himself on Weber Street in Waterloo.

At a little past 8 o'clock in the morning, Allen was on the ground, setting up cones around the truck in the curb lane where he and his co-workers would be doing their job.

"They would say, 'Happy, we don't need this much crap,' and Al would say you can't be safe enough."

Allen, who was dressed in orange from head-to-toe that day, was struck by a driver just after he had set down the last safety cone. A four-door Mitsubishi hit Allen and then plowed into the back of a utility trailer.

Allen was rushed to hospital and he died the next day.

The driver was charged and sentencing is scheduled to take place in March.

Three people got the chance to continue living thanks to the fact Allen donated his organs.

* * *

When he was told his father had died, Tucker decided there was only one thing to do.

"Everyone else was really upset. I figured I would be the strongest one there," he said. "I would … hold it in."

It didn't take him long to let it out in his own way. On the ice at the curling club, he filled in for his dad and shot out the lights.

"My first game back, the skip on his team asked me to curl for him," Tucker recalled.

"I don't even remember the first game I played for them, I just remember I've never made so many shots in my life. I was on a mission," he said.

"I was drenched in sweat afterwards. I was throwing doubles, triples, I was on fire that night.

"After it was a sigh of relief. I was like, 'I can do this now,' so I was happy."

Lynne said that Tucker just kept rolling. He had to go to the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association championships with his team from Paris and Lynne wasn't sure what to do.

Tucker gave her the answer right away.

"I said, 'Tuck, what do you want to do?' He said, 'Mom, dad would want me to do this. This is what we do this for.'

"He's never, ever thought any other way. This is what dad would want us to do, so we just keep doing it."

Although her son is quiet about losing his father, Lynne said she knows Tucker often thinks about Allen.

"I think Tucker stepped up to the plate," said Lynne. "He doesn't talk a lot about it. I think he has a lot of his own inner dialogue.

"I've seen him out on the ice before and when he's going to throw a big shot, he'll kind of look up."

* * *

At the end of last season, Tucker was left without a team. The 2012-13 season would his last year of bantam and he wanted to make his mark by qualifying for the provincials.

"I, as a mother, was kind of panicking," said Lynne. "Those were the things that when Al was around, we would talk about and decide what we were going to do, what direction we were going to head in.

"I was a mess."

Tucker went to an orphan bonspiel in Oakville last spring where single players try to hook up with each other and form a team. The Hofstetters had no luck.

Driving home, Lynne told Tucker she wasn't sure what they were going to do but Tucker reassured her that everything would be all right.

Still with no team, BCC member Bill Calverley suggested the Hofstetters check out a website where Richard Hart and his two boys were advertising that they were looking for a player to join their bantam team.

The Hofstetters knew the Harts from following Richard around to various events. Once upon a time, not too long ago, Hart was the vice for Glenn Howard. While with Howard, Hart won an Olympic silver medal, a world curling championship and a Brier.

Lynne can still remember getting the phone call last year from Hart, informing her that they wanted Tucker to join their team.

"It was such an opportunity," she said. "To curl with other kids, to meet new kids, to me it's important that Tucker is always meeting new people and having different life experiences.

"To have Rich's years of curling experience, that is such a priceless gift."

The team, which is curling out of Paris, includes Aurora's Jeff Wanless, 15, at skip; Joe Hart, 15, at vice; Tucker, 16, at second; and David Hart, 13, at lead. From the get-go, they've clicked.

The team's first event, a junior bonspiel in Peterborough open to those aged 20 and younger, was successful as they finished second.

"He's got terrific skills," said Hart, who has known the Hofstetters for about five years. "He's a great sweeper, he has a terrific attitude and he's a good shotmaker.

"One of the things . . . I look for in a team is trying to get players who are going to come and play their position and that's one thing that Tucker does and they all do very well."

Recently, the team won its bantam zones and regionals, meaning Tucker's goal for this season has been achieved. Team Wanless will play at the bantam provincials at the RCN (Navy) Curling Club in Ottawa, Feb. 27-March 2.

Lynne is happy for team's success and the camaraderie shared by its members.

"It's a curling family," she said. "These kids have clicked since Day 1."

"I find it harder now, actually," she said. "I think it's because, especially with curling this year, we've had some really good success and it's hard not to be able to share that with him.

"There's times when something exciting will happen and I'll think I can hardly wait to tell Al this and I say, 'Wait a minute.' But he knows. I'm a very strong believer that he's here with us."

Tucker agreed.

"Sometimes you just look up and the light twinkles, you kind of feel like it's OK, he's there, you're with him," said Tucker.

"You just know that when you win and you're happy, you just think about how happy he would be.

"He would want me to move on. He would be proud of me."

Hart is just pleased that Tucker feels comfortable enough to share some of his dad with him.

"I think it's on Tucker's mind a lot and I do feel honoured when he tells a story," said Hart. "I feel kind of special that he feels comfortable enough to even share an experience like that with me."

* * *

For Team Wanless, the focus now is on the provincials. But, going forward, Tucker may have to think about finding another team next season as he will be the only player on the team who will graduate to junior.

While Lynne will do her usual worrying, Tucker will try to calm her.

"Everything will work out," said Lynne, who wanted to thank everyone for the support her family has received since Allen's death.

"One foot in front of the other. If you keep that positive attitude, things usually fall into place."

No matter what, the goal for Tucker remains the same - the Olympics.

Hart, who has been there, said many things can change as a curler matures but for those who want it, it's there.

"He's got great skills for a kid his age but like anything else it comes down to drive and time," said Hart.

"A lot of kids kind of fizzle out when they're done junior. It's just a matter of whether that's the direction his life goes."

Lynne said that if Tucker makes the Olympics it would be a dream come true.

"He loved it," said Lynne of Allen's passion for curling.

"We would be at home watching events on TV and Al would say, 'This is going to be Tuck. We're going to be going to the Olympics.'

"I'd like to see him go to the Olympics. I think he can. I want to see how far he can go with curling."